Changes for Ginny
by MariageNoir
Summary: In her first year at Hogwarts, Ginny Weasley begins to suspect that she is not who she has thought she was.  In her fourth year, she finds out for certain.


Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling and to Warner Brothers, not to me.  
>Rated K+.<p>

Changes for Ginny

Ginevra Molly Weasley spent the first eleven years of her life certain that she knew exactly who she was. She was the youngest Weasley child, the only girl in a family with six brothers, and the daughter of Molly and Arthur. She never had any reason to doubt this.

Things began to change with something that she heard at the end of her first year at Hogwarts. She had gone to sleep in the hospital wing after her ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets, but she woke at some point in the middle of the night to hear her parents talking in hushed, concerned voices.

"… but it might have something to do with why she was susceptible," her father said.

"No. No," said her mother. "Don't say that, Arthur. Don't even _think_ that. She's our daughter, Arthur. She's never known any other parents."

What did they mean? Ginny wondered. What did her father mean by "why she was susceptible?" Surely it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Voldemort. She would never have wanted to do such a thing on her own; she hated hurting people, even accidentally. And what was her mother talking about? Of _course_ she was their daughter. Wasn't she? Wasn't she?

Ginny couldn't think about it anymore. She was too tired. She let her eyelids droop the rest of the way over her eyes and fell back asleep. And in the morning, she wondered if she might have dreamt it. It was silly to think that she could be anyone but the Weasleys' daughter.

Ginny didn't wonder about who she was again until the summer before her third year at Hogwarts. That was the summer that her family went to the Quidditch World Cup. They took their seats in the top box, and at first Ginny was just excited to look around and to take in the stadium. She looked up at the sound of more people entering the box. She recognized two of the three people—Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius. The third person had to be Mrs. Malfoy. She had the same blonde hair and pale skin as her son, but these weren't the only features that Ginny recognized. The structure of the woman's eyes, the shape of her jaw—Ginny saw them every morning in the bathroom mirror. She glanced around, wondering if any of the others had picked up on this similarity, but they were happily looking at their programmes and talking about Quidditch. Was she just imagining things?

That night in the tent, Ginny stood in front of the mirror, tracing her fingers over her eyelids and her jaw. She wanted so desperately to believe that she was the person she'd always thought she was, that she was a Weasley like any other. Perhaps the similarities in her face and Mrs. Malfoy's were just a coincidence.

It was in Ginny's fourth year that everything changed irrevocably.

The year had been going well. Ginny had joined Dumbledore's Army, and she was learning to defend herself. She hoped that there would never be an occasion for her to use what she had learned—she didn't want to have to hurt anyone—but she felt good knowing that she could do it, that she could help protect the world from evil. She was dating Michael Corner and enjoying herself. There had been that horrifying day when she found out that her father had been attacked, but he had gotten steadily better. Then, in January, the blow came.

Ginny arrived at breakfast to find her friends bent over the _Daily Prophet_. She took a seat and looked over at the paper. Ten Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban…ten highly dangerous Death Eaters who had done horrible things to people. There were photographs—and there was her face, staring up at her. Her brown eyes with the heavy lids. Her cheekbones. Her slight lips. The shape of her jaw. All of them were faithfully reproduced in the _Prophet_'s photograph of Bellatrix Lestrange…and there on Rodolphus Lestrange, two photographs over, was Ginny's red hair, darker than that of any of the other Weasleys…she had never thought to wonder why…what was she going to do…Muttering that she'd forgotten something in her dormitory, Ginny fled the table.

Once she was alone in her dormitory, Ginny sat and thought hard. Were…were the Lestranges her biological parents? How could that be? Why had no one ever told her? Could there be any other explanation for the resemblance? If she _had_ been adopted, she would have had to be very young at the time: she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't lived with the Weasleys. Could she ask someone? Ron would probably have been too young to remember as well. She couldn't be sure that Fred and George wouldn't make a joke out of it. One of her older brothers, then…she could write to Bill…Ginny grabbed a quill and parchment and started to write.

_Dear Bill,_

_I saw a picture in the _Daily Prophet_ and I_

No. That was the wrong way to begin._  
><em>

_Are my parents actually_

No._  
><em>

_Why do I look like Bellatrix_

Much too blunt._  
><em>

_Do you know anything about_

Still wrong._  
><em>

_Am I adopted?_

_Your sister_

But was she?_  
><em>

_Love_

Who was she?_  
><em>

_Yours_

Much too formal._  
><em>

_Your younger sister_

She was, wasn't she?_  
><em>

_Lots of love from your sister Ginny_

She took the letter to the owlery. She just wanted to know so that she could decide what to think.

Bill's answer came back the next day.

_Dear Ginny,_

_ I don't know how you found out, but yes, you are adopted. You were about a year old when Mum and Dad brought you home. I don't know much more about the circumstances—all I know is that the adoption agency was having a difficult time placing you. I don't know anything about your birth parents either. Mum and Dad never talked about it, if they even knew themselves. I hope this doesn't change how you feel about all of us._

_ Love,_

_ Bill_

Ginny hugged the letter to her chest and thought. Of _course_ it didn't change how she felt about the other Weasleys—they were her family, no matter what. She wished, though, that Bill had been able to give her more details; she didn't feel quite ready to talk to her adoptive parents about it. It seemed almost certain now that the Lestranges were her biological parents, but she couldn't be quite sure. If only she knew…then she would know how to feel about them.

Over the next several months, Ginny brooded on this new information. She was amazed that, with wanted posters all over Hogsmeade, no one had picked up on the physical resemblance between herself and the Lestranges. She couldn't say that she was upset, though; attention over this was all she needed. The school year drew towards its close, and Ginny began to think that she would never learn more, that she would be stuck in this state of turmoil forever.

Then came the Department of Mysteries.

Ginny was running, dodging between shelves, trying to escape from the Death Eaters. Suddenly, as she turned a corner, she came face to face with a masked Death Eater. Ginny gasped, but as she raised her wand to defend herself, the Death Eater gasped as well. Then he lowered his wand.

"Rana?" he said. "Are you…are you Rana?"

"My name is Ginny Weasley," said Ginny, thoroughly confused. The Death Eater then moved towards her, gripped her arm, and forced her sleeve up. He touched the L-shaped birthmark on her upper arm. Then he dropped her arm abruptly.

"Bellatrix!" he shouted. "Bellatrix, come here!"

Bellatrix Lestrange appeared from around another corner. "What is it, Rodolphus? Have you found him?" she began. Then she stopped, her eyes fixed on Ginny's face.

"Rana," she breathed.

"It's really her," said Rodolphus, pulling off his mask. "She has the birthmark; I looked. She's our Rana."

"My name is Ginny Weasley," Ginny said again. It seemed to be all that she could say.

Bellatrix waved a dismissive hand. "Of course it's not," she said. "Your name is Rana Lestrange. You're our daughter."

So it was true. Ginny looked from one to the other of the Lestranges, not knowing what to say. "Why did you give me up?" she asked at last.

"We never wanted to," said Rodolphus. "We were being sent to Azkaban. We didn't have a choice."

"We wanted you to go to my sister," said Bellatrix, "but the Ministry didn't give us a say in the matter. We never thought that you'd end up with Muggle-lovers."

"The Weasleys are my family," Ginny said numbly.

"We're your family," said Rodolphus.

"Of course we are, pet," said Bellatrix.

"We've been trying to find you ever since we got out of Azkaban," said Rodolphus.

"You can live with us now," said Bellatrix. "We've missed you terribly, pet. Believe us, we wouldn't have given you up if we had any choice in the matter."

Ginny didn't know what to think. The Lestranges had done horrible things—there was no denying that. But they were looking at her now as if—as if they cared about her—as if they even loved her. She couldn't remember it, of course, but they must have taken care of her when she was an infant, must have changed her nappies and sung her to sleep. Could there be another side to the Lestranges?

"I…I don't know…" she murmured.

Just then, there was a flash of light next to them. More Death Eaters leapt into view, battling with some of Ginny's friends. "We'll find you later, pet!" Bellatrix called as she and Rodolphus joined the fight. Ginny remained where she was. She couldn't fight against her friends, but she couldn't fight against the people who were calling themselves her family either.

The next day, when the battle was over and her biological parents had disappeared and everyone knew that You-Know-Who was back, Ginny found that she didn't want to talk to anyone about what had happened. Maybe it had all been a dream, she thought. She kept telling herself this over the next few weeks, but she had to stop when she received a letter early in the summer holidays.

_Dear Rana,_

_We're sure that you will be pleased to hear that we managed to escape imprisonment after the incident at the Department of Mysteries. We are now staying at Malfoy Manor with your aunt, and we would like you to join us as soon as possible. We want to know you and to give you the life that we always wanted you to have. Let us know when you're coming._

_All our love,_

_Your mother and father_

Ginny took the letter into the kitchen, where her mother was cooking lunch. "Mum?" she said.

"Yes, dear?" said her mother. Ginny found that she didn't know what to say, so she just handed her mother the letter. As Mrs. Weasley read it over, her face turned pale. "Oh my goodness…" she said.

"They found me at the Department of Mysteries," Ginny managed to say. "They recognized me. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"We thought it would be best," said her mother. "Would it have made you happier to have known? We're your family."

"I know," said Ginny, "but I just…could you tell me how it all happened?"

"Your father and I wanted a daughter," her mother said, "and we heard about you from someone your father knew at the Ministry. He said that they were having a difficult time finding anyone to adopt you because…well, because…"

"Because of who my parents were," Ginny finished, understanding. "But that didn't bother you?"

"You couldn't help that," her mother said simply. "You were a beautiful, sweet baby, Ginny. There was nothing evil about you. We knew that you'd be a wonderful part of our family." She sighed. "I suppose that we never talked about it because we didn't want anyone to think less of you for it. We know that it doesn't matter who gave birth to you, Ginny, but a lot of people don't think that way." She leaned in to give Ginny a hug. "We love you so much."

Ginny returned the hug. "I love you too," she said. Then she paused, thinking carefully about what she was going to say next. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but…can I go? Just for a visit," she added quickly. "They've done horrible things, I know, but…but they seem to care about me. I just want to know something about them…I just want to know if there's anything good about them."

Her mother looked doubtful. "I'm worried that something will happen to you, Ginny," she said.

"They wouldn't hurt _me_," said Ginny. She was sure of this, even though she didn't know why. "Please, Mum. This is important to me."

"Well, I suppose so," said her mother. "In a fortnight, maybe?"

Ginny nodded. "Thank you so much for understanding," she said.

Over the next two weeks, Ginny got ready to spend time with her biological parents. She told her family and close friends what she was doing. Predictably, everyone had something to say about the matter. Ginny tried to take in all the reactions, from Tonks's "Always nice to have a new cousin!" to Ron's "Blimey!" The reaction that upset her most was Harry's.

"I just can't BELIEVE that you're doing this!" Harry said, as Ginny finalized her packing. "I wouldn't have ever thought that you'd willingly spend time with two people so evil!"

"Oh, hush, Harry," said Hermione, who was helping Ginny fold her socks. "It's Ginny's decision."

"I will NOT hush," said Harry. "If Ginny wants to spend time with the Lestranges, then she's not the person I thought she was." He turned to Ron. "You're with me, right?"

"Um…I don't know," said Ron. "It's all a bit hard to wrap my head around."

"What do you mean, it's a bit hard to wrap your head around?" said Harry. "They're Death Eaters! She killed Sirius less than two months ago! How can you DO this, Ginny?"

"They're my biological parents, Harry," said Ginny, trying not to sound upset. "They gave me life."

"I DON'T CARE!" said Harry. "You have two perfectly good parents, but Neville doesn't have any. Think about that, Ginny. Do you want to spend the summer with the people who are responsible for that? Does Neville mean nothing to you?"

"How can you say that?" Ginny asked. "Neville's my friend. You know that as well as anyone."

"I think you're being very insensitive, Harry," said Hermione. "Put yourself in Ginny's shoes. Wouldn't you want to get to know your parents too?"

"OF COURSE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MY PARENTS," shouted Harry, "BECAUSE MY PARENTS FOUGHT AGAINST VOLDEMORT, WHILE THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT REALLY GINNY'S PARENTS SUPPORT HIM IN EVERYTHING HE DOES."

"Don't you pay him any mind," Hermione said to Ginny. "He's been like this all year. This is a completely personal choice, and I'm always here for you if you need me."

"Thanks, Hermione," said Ginny, hiding her face so that no one would see the tears forming in her eyes. Were people going to treat her like Harry was treating her once they found out the truth?

"I think you've all gone round the bend," Harry said, stomping out of the room. Ginny sighed.

A few days later, Ginny was ensconced at Malfoy Manor. She had spent most of her time with Bellatrix and Rodolphus. She had only seen Narcissa Malfoy once; Narcissa had said, "It's nice to have you here…Yes, I suppose you are a pretty little thing," and quickly hurried away.  
>"She's bitter," Bellatrix explained when Ginny told her about this, "because all three of us are together now and she has no one. Lucius is in Azkaban, and she just can't accept that Draco's a Death Eater now. So silly of her." She sighed. "You know, pet, Draco is only a year older than you are. Would you like to join us too?"<p>

Ginny felt sick. How could Bellatrix think that she would want to torture and kill people? She could never bring herself to do that in a million years. "No, I wouldn't," she managed to say.

"Are you sure?" Rodolphus asked. "You're so good at magic. We could really use you."

"I'm sure," Ginny said.

Bellatrix's eyes darkened. "I'll never forgive myself," she said quietly, "for not doing more to keep you from going to live with that filth. What have they been filling your head with?" She rose and began to pace, her voice gradually getting louder. "They think they're better than us, don't they? The fools!"

"Don't talk about my family like that," said Ginny.

"I'll talk about them however I want!" said Bellatrix. "You need to stop thinking of them as your family. It's _our_ blood that's in your veins, and you need to learn to accept that. Then you won't be so unwilling to join—"

"Bellatrix! Bellatrix!" said Rodolphus. "Calm yourself. We're not going to achieve anything by forcing Rana to join us. Give her time. Soon she'll want to join us of her own accord."

Bellatrix let out a long breath. "I suppose you're right," she said grudgingly. "I'm sorry, Rana. I'm not angry with _you_."

"It's…it's all right," said Ginny, who still wasn't used to being called Rana. "I suppose this is difficult for all of us."

"Why don't you want to join us, Rana?" Rodolphus asked.

"I don't want to hurt people," said Ginny. "Hurting people is wrong."

"They're not _people_, pet," said Bellatrix, taking a seat next to Ginny and beginning to stroke her hair. "They're Mudbloods."

"That's not true!" said Ginny. "Muggleborns are people too. One of my dearest friends comes from a Muggle family, and she's brilliant. It doesn't matter who your parents are." Encouraged by the Lestranges' silence, she continued. "It's like my mum said. She and my dad took me in and cared for me, even though a lot of people didn't want me because of you two—" She broke off abruptly as Bellatrix's face fell. Bellatrix rose from her seat and dashed from the room.

"You've hurt your mother's feelings, Rana," said Rodolphus.

"I didn't mean to," Ginny murmured. She really hadn't—she had just been trying to explain why she didn't want to hurt anyone.

"I know you didn't," said Rodolphus. "You have to understand, Rana, that she's a bit high-strung. Azkaban can do that to a person. It wouldn't hurt to apologize to her." Ginny nodded and went to find Bellatrix.

Bellatrix was sitting in her room, her head down and veiled by her hair. Ginny took a seat next to her on the bed. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," she said. "I'm sorry. But I'm not sorry for what I said about Muggleborns being people too."

"You don't like us, do you?" Bellatrix muttered. "You wish you were back with those blood traitors." There were tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, pet. I…I want to be a good mother to you, but I'm out of practice."

"I understand that!" said Ginny. "Really I do. It's not that I don't like you—I wasn't trying to say that. I was just trying to say that you shouldn't judge a person by their family. I love the Weasleys, and I always will, and it hurts me when you call them names. But I'm sure that I could learn to love you too, once we get used to each other and make some compromises. Shall we try again?"

"Yes," said Bellatrix. "We should."

Ginny smiled. She was glad that she and her biological mother had been able to talk out their feelings together.

Over the next several weeks, Ginny tried to get to know Bellatrix and Rodolphus better. She couldn't stop thinking about how different life at Malfoy Manor was from life at the Burrow. Of course, it was very different materially—everything at Malfoy Manor was simply sumptuous —but the main differences were emotional. It was very clear that, in their way, Bellatrix and Rodolphus cared about her deeply: they wanted what they believed was best for her. But what they believed was best for her was so alien to everything with which Ginny had grown up. The Lestranges liked to torture and kill people; the Weasleys liked to help and welcome people. And still both families loved her…Could Ginny trade on this love to make the Lestranges understand that what they believed was wrong? It was worth a try.

"It's so wonderful to be with both of you again," Rodolphus said one evening.

"Yes," Bellatrix said.

"Families shouldn't be separated," Rodolphus continued.

Ginny seized her opportunity. "I agree," she said, screwing up her courage. "But…but I think that applies to all families. My friend Neville…he lives with his grandmother because you two tortured his parents into insanity! If you care about families so much, I don't understand how you could…I don't understand how _anyone_ could…Why did you _do_ that?"

"Are you talking about the Longbottom boy?" Bellatrix asked. Ginny nodded. "Well, in that case, pet, we did it because we needed to find out where the Dark Lord was."

"But don't you understand what it did to Neville?" Ginny asked. "He's never been able to know his parents. He's my friend. He didn't deserve to have something that horrible happen to him."

"Well, to be fair," said Rodolphus, "we didn't know, at the time, that the two of you were going to become friends."

"That's not the point!" said Ginny. "No one deserves to have something that horrible happen to them. Just think…just think how you would have felt if you'd never been able to see me again, or if you'd had to see me and I didn't even know who you were, or if you knew I was out there and you couldn't get to me. Wouldn't you have felt awful?"

"Of course," said Bellatrix. "Of course we would have, pet."

"Well, that's how Neville feels," said Ginny. "He sees his parents, and they don't know him. He feels awful too."

The Lestranges exchanged looks. "Oh," said Rodolphus. "I never thought about it that way."

"Nor did I," Bellatrix said thoughtfully. "Funny."

"It's not funny!" said Ginny. "It's terrible."

"I meant funny as in odd," said Bellatrix, "not as in humorous."

"It is _very_ odd," Ginny agreed. "I think you should think about it."

"Well, I suppose we could do that," said Rodolphus, "if it means so much to you, Rana."

"It does," said Ginny. "Thank you."

The next morning, Ginny got up and made her way downstairs for breakfast. As she approached the dining room, she heard the Lestranges' voices.

"Well, I can't pretend it didn't upset me, Rodolphus!" said Bellatrix. Her voice sounded tense. "My own flesh and blood called me terrible."

"We have to give her time," said Rodolphus, "and maybe meet her halfway on some of these things." He didn't sound particularly happy either.

"But I just don't understand it," said Bellatrix. "I know that she was only five months old when we last saw her, but I could already tell what kind of a person she was. I'm her mother, and I just _knew_, and she would never, never have said these things. What have they done to her?"

"I know, love," said Rodolphus. "Try to calm down, Bellatrix. It's been a long time. Maybe there are things going on today that we're out of touch with."

"I don't think this has anything to do with being out of touch."

"We just need to try to understand her," said Rodolphus. "We can't expect this to be perfect right away. We haven't been parents for fourteen years, and we've never been the parents of a teenager before. Aren't teenagers supposed to be the most difficult?"

"I suppose so," said Bellatrix. "I was a hellion as a teenager." She sighed. "I just… I love her so much, Rodolphus, but I don't feel like I know her. And I wish I did. Do you think she'll come to love us too, Rodolphus?"

"I think she will," said Rodolphus. "We just need to listen to her and talk to her."

"I'm trying to think about what she said," said Bellatrix. "I just hope we'll see some reward in the end."

Ginny smiled to herself. This was the key! The Lestranges would learn to understand the error of their ways if she just showed them that she loved them for it. And once they understood that, she would love them even more, and they would understand still more, and she would love them still more…It would be a happy situation for all of them.

Ginny walked into the dining room. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully. The Lestranges smiled at her.

"Good morning, pet," said Bellatrix.

"Good morning, Rana," said Rodolphus. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you," said Ginny. "Did you…did you think about what I said?"

"Yes, we did," said Rodolphus. "We see your point about what we did to the Longbottom family. But you must try to see our point too. We did have our reasons."

"But I don't think there can be good reasons for doing something like that," said Ginny. "And…and there's another thing. Bellatrix, Harry Potter is my friend too, and he had no family. And he was just starting to have a family, you know, because Sirius Black was his godfather, and…well, you killed him. And Harry's really, really upset about it, and he said that I shouldn't even come to see you because of it, and it really hurts me because I don't want to have to choose between you!" The words were spilling out now. Ginny just couldn't stop. "He thinks you're all bad, you know, but I don't. I really don't! I know that you care about me and about each other. I know that you love me and want me to be happy. There's so much good in you! I just don't see how you can like to hurt people!" Ginny was crying now, salty tears spilling down her cheeks. "Just…just think how you would feel if someone hurt you or…or someone you loved like that!"

Bellatrix pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Rana. Oh, Rana, pet, please don't cry."

"We hate seeing you so upset," Rodolphus put in.

"We hate thinking that _we've_ made you so upset," said Bellatrix. "Oh, I'm a terrible mother!"

"No, you're not," Ginny choked out. "It's just…I don't understand…I feel awful…"

"So do I," said Bellatrix. "Seeing you feeling so awful…and knowing it's all my fault…"

"So do I," said Rodolphus. "I'd never want to hurt you. What can we do to make you happy, Rana?"

"Stop killing and torturing people!" Ginny wailed. Her voice failed her then, and she just sobbed and sobbed into Bellatrix's shoulder.

"I've never felt so terrible," said Bellatrix, stroking her hair. "We'll try, pet. We'll really try. I can't stand upsetting you like this."

"Nor can I," said Rodolphus, gently patting her back.

Ginny managed a shaky smile. "That's…that's the first step, I think," she said. "Being upset that you've hurt someone. That's really good of you two. It makes me so happy." And when she saw the Lestranges exchange smiles, she felt that she had given them a very precious gift.

Things only got better in the following weeks. Ginny felt now that Bellatrix and Rodolphus were really trying to understand what they'd done and to see the error of their ways. At first, admittedly, they only seemed to mind their wrongdoing when they saw that it bothered _her_; they didn't seem to care how they'd affected other people. Nevertheless, even this changed as time went on and Ginny helped them figure out how to extend their burgeoning empathy from her to other people. "You're such a blessing to us, pet," Bellatrix told her one night. "I wish more than anything that we'd been able to have the last fourteen years with you."

"A part of me does too," Ginny admitted. She loved the Weasleys and wouldn't have traded her childhood with them for anything, but she thought that she was good for the Lestranges. Their love for her made them better people. If she had spent her childhood with them, she could have accomplished this earlier.

Bellatrix kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, pet."

Before Ginny knew it, the summer was drawing to a close. She had to pack for her fifth year at Hogwarts. Ginny was excited to go back and to see her friends and brother again; she was eager to tell them about how much the Lestranges had changed over the summer.

On her last night at the Manor, Ginny, completely packed, sat with the Lestranges. "We're going to miss you so much, pet," said Bellatrix.

"Will we see you at Christmas?" Rodolphus asked.

"I'll try," said Ginny, "but I have to spend time with my other family too. They haven't seen me all summer."

"They must be missing you," Rodolphus said.

"I'm sure they are," said Ginny, "and I miss them too."

"Of course you do," said Bellatrix. "They saw you grow up." She sighed. "Lucky, lucky Weasleys."

"They raised me," said Ginny, "and they were always good to me and loved me more than anything in the world. They made me who I am. Of course I love them." She smiled. "But you brought me into the world, and you've been so wonderful to me this summer. I…I love you both too!"

Bellatrix and Rodolphus rushed to embrace her. "We love you too," said Rodolphus.

"We love you so very much," said Bellatrix. "We're so glad we found you again."

Ginny smiled and returned their embraces. It wasn't every girl, she thought, who was lucky enough to have two wonderful sets of parents.


End file.
